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| Umm al-Rasas | |
|---|---|
| Name | Umm al-Rasas |
| Native name | أم الرصاص |
| Caption | Roman and Byzantine mosaic floors at Umm al-Rasas |
| Map type | Jordan |
| Location | Madaba Governorate, Jordan |
| Region | Levant |
| Type | Archaeological site |
| Epochs | Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Abbasid, Crusader, Ottoman |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Designation1 | World Heritage Site |
| Designation1 date | 2004 |
Umm al-Rasas Umm al-Rasas is a significant archaeological site in the Madaba Governorate of Jordan noted for its extensive Byzantine Empire and Roman Empire remains, exceptional mosaic floors, and evidence of continuous occupation into the Islamic Golden Age. Located along historic routes linking Jerusalem and Amman, the site illustrates interactions among Byzantine elites, Arab tribes, Umayyad Caliphate administrators, and later medieval authorities. Excavations and surveys by scholars from institutions such as the American Center of Research and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan have revealed churches, fortifications, and domestic structures that illuminate Late Antique and Early Islamic urbanism.
The site's occupation begins in the Roman Empire period with evidence of Roman military and administrative presence contemporaneous with the Legio X Fretensis and regional networks like the Via Nova Traiana. During the Byzantine Empire Umm al-Rasas emerged as a bishopric within the Provincia Palaestina Secunda and is attested in ecclesiastical sources alongside sees such as Madaba and Gerasa. The town experienced transformation under the Sasanian Empire incursions and the transformative campaigns of the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 7th century, after which local elites negotiated accommodation with the Rashidun Caliphate and subsequently the Umayyad Caliphate. Later periods show traces of integration into Abbasid fiscal networks and intermittent occupation during the Crusades and the Mamluk Sultanate before Ottoman incorporation under Muhammad Ali of Egypt era reconfigurations.
Archaeological investigations have documented multi-period stratigraphy with features attributable to Roman architecture, Byzantine basilica plans, and Umayyad modifications. Excavators uncovered basalt city walls, tower foundations analogous to those at Jerash and Amman Citadel, and household assemblages comparable to finds from Pella and Harran. Pottery typologies include imports such as African Red Slip Ware, Late Roman C pottery, and local wares aligned with assemblages from Gadara. Numismatic evidence includes coins of Constantine I, Heraclius, early Umayyad dinars, and Abbasid dirhams that assist in refining occupation phases. Inscriptions in Greek, Syriac, and Arabic provide epigraphic links to clerical figures, donors, and tribal benefactors similar to epigraphs found in Madaba and Bethlehem.
The site is particularly renowned for a sequence of ecclesiastical buildings with polychrome mosaic pavements depicting hunting scenes, biblical episodes, and itineraries that parallel mosaics from Madaba Map contexts and churches in Tell Mar Elias. Notable mosaics include iconography of the Baptism of Christ, pastoral motifs resembling panels at Saint Catherine's Monastery, and city-vineyard scenes echoing motifs found in Hosn Suleiman and Khirbat al-Mafjar. Church architecture shows aisled basilicas, baptisteries, and funerary chapels with inscriptions invoking bishops whose names correspond to lists in the Notitiae Episcopatuum. Conservation records compare the mosaics' tesserae technique with examples from Caesarea Maritima and Tiberias. Several mosaics include donor inscriptions mentioning individuals with ties to families recorded in Syro-Palestinian episcopal networks.
In the Early Islamic period, adaptations of existing structures at the site reflect patterns seen in Anjar and Amman where basilicas were repurposed for civic or domestic functions under the Umayyad Caliphate. Architectural reuse includes installation of residential divisions, construction of small mosques, and incorporation of local stonework similar to transformations at Qasr al-Mshatta and Qasr al-Hallabat. Material culture attests to continuity in agricultural exploitation with olive presses and storage installations comparable to installations in the Jordan Valley and Wadi Mujib basin. During the Crusader States epoch the location functioned intermittently within regional defensive networks connected to fortifications like Kerak and Shobak, and Ottoman-era tax registers indicate sporadic habitation and pastoral use by Bedouin tribes linked to the Beni Sakhr and Howeitat.
Conservation initiatives at the site have involved collaboration among the World Heritage Committee, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, and international teams from the University of Chicago, the University of Sydney, and the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology. Efforts prioritized mosaic stabilization, stone consolidation, and visitor pathways informed by methodologies from ICOMOS charters and comparative conservation at Petra. The site's inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004 recognized its outstanding testimony to Byzantine and Early Islamic cultural interchange and spurred regional management planning with stakeholders including the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (Jordan) and local community organizations. Ongoing challenges involve balancing tourism development promoted by entities like the Jordan Tourism Board with conservation imperatives advocated by NGOs such as the Getty Conservation Institute.
Category:Archaeological sites in Jordan Category:World Heritage Sites in Jordan